How can I help my 6 month old get more sleep at night?

Question

I have a six month old son who goes down to sleep at about 8:30 or 9 at night. We feed him rice-cereal before bed and he's on formula, not breastmilk.

Either way he is waking up at least once an hour all night long until 8 am when he's up for the day. I've tried swaddling him and I've tried letting him sleep unwrapped but neither seems to work.

I'm not getting any sleep, and it seems like he should be sleeping through most of the night... Please help!

Answer 1

Make a bedtime routine, be sure he has a fresh diaper before he goes down. It's good that you are feeding him before bed. I would recommend you watch your son. I found with my daughter, that if I stood in the room when she was whimpering she put herself back to sleep. Sometimes, they wake up, and it takes them a minute to fall back to sleep. But, watch first before you pick them up, give him a minute. Because once you pick him up its all over. I think he has gotten in the habit of having that specially mommy time. Note, watching him is fine... but if he is whaling instead of whimpering be sure to pick him up.

Answer 2

I had the same problem, try using a disposable diaper, if, ur using a cloth diaper. Dont make him sleep for long during the day, try playing wth him as much as possible, so tht he'll get tired and fall asleep. Feed him dinner between 7 and 8, keep him up alittle bit more and when about bedtime, give his last feed of formula. so tht he'll be full. Have long intervals between cereals and milk, do not mix both.. Another reason could be, he mite b feeling warm or cold, check those as well and make right.. They say babies need warmth, but not all babies, some do sweat, so switching on the a/c will help.. try these, good luck. after all motherhood, isnt easy, its alot of sacrifice. take care.

Answer 3

My son is almost 10 months now and he didnt start sleeping all night until he was about the same age, then he slept all night for about 6 weeks and he strated waking up again. I tried all the stuff people told me like bathing and taking him outside, but that didnt help, you can try keeping him up for at least 4 to 5 hours before he goes to his nightsleep, but im not sure if that will really help. My doctor told me its a mind thing, whenever he is ready he will sleep all night, just be patient, he will be sleeping through the night very soon, just give him some time, i know its not easy, but thats how some babies are.

Answer 4

With feeding him cereal and formula he is more likely to get upset belly and the natural response is to think to eath. My son will not go to bed till 10:00 pm due to my work hours but when he was that age he got up every hour , we let him sleep in a pamper only because he gets hot easy. Its hard to say what will work for you as each child is different. I have our second child and like her brother she likes to be held and walked which mean I get very little sleep. My son at almost 2 now will sleep from 10 pm to 10 am. My 4 month old daughter is in the up every hour stage. She like to be up for the day at 2 am.

Hang in there good luck , and if your not a single mother have the daddy take the over night hours and let your rest.

Answer 5

Is he up all day or sleeping most of the day? Perhaps he has his days and nights mixed up. If so you will have to keep him up all day so that by bedtime he will be too tired to wake up. Also what is your bedtime routine? Try Baby Magic's Lavender Milk Bath and a routine. Babies love predictablity. With my kids when they were babies, I would give them a bath and after that I would not talk. I would just smile and rub them down with lotion, give them their last bottle for the night and then put them to bed. It worked great. Try a bedtime rountine. And perhaps he wants rice cereal and a warm bottle. Hope you are able to get some sleep soon

Answer 6

I had lots of trouble with my son getting to sleep, and waking up durring the night. If he is waking up that often at night it isn't healthy for you or anyone in the household. Stress and sleeplessnes can lead to becoming sick, or at least moody and iritable.

If your son sleeps in the same room with you might try to move to a different room. Or try to cuddle with him for a couple min. and put him back in his own bed and walk away every time he wakes up. He will probily cry but some times children have to cry it out. My son was waking up 5 or 6 times a night when he was 13 months, and I had to move him to a different room, stop nursing and let him cry it out. After four nights of screaming tantrums, he slept through the night. and we all were alot happier.

Also make sure that he isn't sick, or teething. Spending more time with him durring the day may also help. Be consistant, and make sure everyone else is too! Try putting him to bed later or cutting out a nap in the afternoon, if nothing works see a doctor.

Answer 7

Right now he is going through seperation anxiety. Try and be patient with him. That is why I am up at 2:30 in the morning. Also, feed him the cereal (of your choice) a couple of hours before bed then feed him his bottle at bedtime. Hope it helps

Answer 8

Start giving him 1st stage foods. You'll be amazed at how much longer they sleep. Introduce apples first, give him some mixed up in the cereal. Try it for a few days, then go on to pears. So on and so on. Keep an eye out for any allergies. Good luck

Answer 9

My fourth child slept much better than the other three. Maybe it was coincidence, maybe not, but here's what I did that was different. I took the cotton shirt, that I had worn all day, and slipped his bassinet matress through it, placing it under the area where his head rested. That way he could smell mom all night long (sweat and all).
Just make sure that you secure it by tucking it under the mattress well, because you never want any unwanted cloth blocking a baby's air flow or getting caught around his neck.

Answer 10

My son wouldnt sleep thru the night either. I finally put mix grain cereal in his bottle, one scoop per 2 oz the same as formula, with the formula too. Dont use rice cereal, it stops them up and he could be having cramps. At one time, i had to put him to sleep and let him sleep with me